Target Area West (TAW)

19 Jan 2010

Yes

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TAW operates with two short pulse beamlines which can be configured in modes with pulse lengths from one to a few tens of picoseconds. Beam 8, using dielectric gratings, can deliver higher energies when operating at pulse lengths above 10 ps. Typical experimental configurations run with either dual 1 ps pulses or a mix of 1 ps and 10 ps pulses orientated at 90 degrees and deliver intensities of up to mid 1019 W/cm2 for pump-probe experiments using F3 focusing optics, though other configurations are available. For further details on experimental or laser configurations please contact facility staff.

Both short pulse beams operate with on-shot diagnostics including near and far field images, energy, spectrometer, autocorrelator, etc.

The 6 long pulse beams can be configured alongside the short pulses in multiple configurations, including single side cluster, cylindrical and spherical compression geometries. These beamlines are fully configurable in both number, location and angle (within achievable parameters). The beamlines can be operated with pulse lengths from 0.5 ns up to 8 ns and energy from 50 J per beam up to 300 J per beam depending on operational pulse length. Under request, the temporal shape of the pulse can be modified, and conversion into second harmonic is available on all long pulse beams. The standard jitter between the long pulses and the short pulses is around 150 ps, but can be absolutely synchronised as a special configuration. This configuration limits the available laser parameters and must be discussed with facility staff.

Pulse configurations are available with configurable pre- or post-pulses, dual pulses etc.